Rownak Tribe

Those Who Cull

"Will we hunt again today, Roxa?"
Looking to him she shook her head, "The tribe is fed, we take what we need and cull the weak so the herd may live longer. My Jerlix, you have much to learn to stay with my hunting party." She was looking at the young man, not like a pack mate or tribe mate, but something more like family. "But later we can work on teaching you what beast to pull from the herd."

— Roxa First Pack Leader of the Rownak to Jerlix

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Calling the WildLands home but more specifically claiming as theirs a large chunk of the land north of DryLock Lake. They are fiercely territorial and will defend and fight for their land. Treating outsiders less than favorable and more than often not hostile towards others. They do seem to be indifferent over Keepers minus the fact they tend to hunt down weaker members of their herds, hence why a lot of outsiders refer to them as Cullers. Most of the time it isn't fought unless they seem to be trying to take the lion share of the herd or if the herd has recently been culled or thinned.

Hierarchy

1. Alpha
2. War Fang
3. 1st Pack Leader
4. 2nd Pack Leader
5. Warriors
6. Hunters
7. Care Takers
8. Crafters
9. Tribe Members

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Alpha: The ruling person of the tribe. It is a rank that is passed down from Father to son and so on and so forth. They control or allow what it is they feel is correct for their people. There have been a few in the past that have not done well for the tribe and it was handled by waiting it out.

War Fang: While not a very used role they are appointed during times of battle and war, generally this title is held by the First Pack Leader as they are often the most experienced in the base skills that make a good warrior.

Crafters: Making whether it is armor, weapons, baskets, saddles, tanning hides, ect anything that must be made is generally made by them as well as repaired.

Tribe Members: Those who live in the tribe and hold no rank.

First Pack Leader: Master/Mistress of the hunts, often the lead for organizing hunts and keeping the hunting parties in line and making sure the young are taught how to hunt and defend themselves. While each hunting pack has a leader this is the person they report to and that checks over everything.

Second Pack Leader: Often treated a second to the First Pack Leader, though they can act independently outside of camp, they are generally submissive towards the higher-ups.

Warriors/Hunters: While often interchangeable during times of peace, during war the warriors will hold a different place in the tribe's hierarchy.

Care Takers: Are those who look after either eggs, baby dinosaurs, or children of the tribe. They are generally the main source of knowledge on raising dinosaurs as well as children.

History

The Rownak people come from a large Time Ripples, there was a large group of settlers living on an island. The old ones would tell stories of how hard it was on this island as the natives didn't care for them and the lack of supplies, that they had been ever grateful to the ripples for saving them. Most of the history of the tribe is lost due to the oral nature of their recording their starting history. Some things that are told are either inflated or untrue, but the Rownak people still hold to them.
The tribe's early years were like any other being tossed into the world of Tyleth. Between the great beasts and time ripples, the people were kept in terror. The old ones tell tales of when the tribe would take in strays from the ripples, how for a long time that kept the tribe growing till the Marked Ones used them as a place to grow and finally attack the Rownaks. The result of this action closed the tribe off from welcoming others in with open arms. The old ones don't talk about what exactly happened between them and those who would become the Marked Ones but it is glossed over as an atrocity and most young ones don't ask much more than that.
Recent years have only seen the Rownaks and The Marked Ones attack each other back and forth. Leaving their marks on each other in various ways. Though the last major skirmish was war, the alpha of the Rownaks murder in his tent leaving his young son the next alpha. In his rash thought, he began rounding up anyone that would help him seek his own revenge, prompting him to promote Roxa to War Fang as she was the first to stand next to him. Eventually, they came home battered and worn but satisfied with the revenge dealt. The tribe would settle again and live their life.

Cultural Customs, Traditions, and Taboos

Main Views of Life

Preserving the natural order of life is one of the highest priorities and value the Rownak people impose on themselves. The predator must hunt the prey, the predator's death feeds the earth and plants, the earth and plants feed the prey, it is all a circle. While they also feel that culling the weak out of a herd only serves to make that herd stronger and healthier, keeping the breeding population free of illness and removing those too old to reproduce from the pool to help the population continue growing and thriving. Balance is almost a way of life for their hunting practices. Helping to cull the local herds from weakness, sickness, and old age. Because the Rownak understand that allowing weakness to fester only makes the rest of the circle weak.

Courtship

Courtship is simple to them if one likes another and wants to spend the rest of their life in their company all you do is gift them either a baby dinosaur or rifle, they accept and you are now the proud wife or husband. Though marriage, bonding as they call it, is not always between one man and one woman. It can be a wife with two husbands, a husband with two wives, there isn't a gender restriction place on bonding. With polyamory a common happening in the Rownak tribe they also subscribe to the communal raising of children. Courtships are often short and quick as well as life long engagements. Either sex can offer the gift it isn't seen as weak or dominate just that you made the choice to offer them a place in your life. Common wedding vows: You are mine. I am yours. May our hunts be rewarding. May our mounts live long lives. May our young grow and strengthen the tribe. I am yours. You are mine.

Views on Death

Treatment of the dead is not burying them, it's seen as an odd or taboo to do so, feeding the dead to their dinosaurs is what the tribe sees as the best way. Beilvieing that their souls pass on from their mortal embrace to strength and live on through their dinosaurs. While they do not subject those that fall in battle or conflict to their beasts and will often give them their own people's death rites if they know them. An example of this would be coming into conflict with The Keepers and if it ends in one of their people falling they will follow along and bury them in the earth as The Keepers do. Death isn't the end is how they view it, it's just the cycle repeating itself and the natural way coming forth and reminding them this is the way. While not fully committing to a reincarnation, they do think people's spirits live on in the world after their mortal body has passed on. Whether it is left in the trees, the dinosaurs, their relatives, and their knowledge they passed down.

Raising Young

With polyamory on the table and the rather communal raising of children, they feel that just because you have a child does not make you a parent. To them, it is perfectly normal for a woman and man to have a child, not be bonded then either biological parent to step out of the picture to resume their life. A recent happening of this was Gervx and Roxa coming together to have Jerlix, which gave Gervx a much-needed heir and in return, her Allosaur was allowed to become bonded to Gervx's Allosaurus. This is normal and perfectly acceptable in Rownak's society. Along with this type of absent biological parent, there are more than a few roles in the society that part of their job is teaching the young about every aspect of their role and how to be a Rownak.

Religion

While they do not hold to a deity they hold themselves to the natural order. Holding nature and the hunt over almost everything else. Though they will obsessively cling to the circle of life as their way of life almost like a religious order.

Other

Time Ripples are a large factor in their decoration, some believing that it helps protect them from the Time Ripples even if it is silly superstition it has worked for most of the tribes remembered history. The most identifying tattoo of a Rownak have generally simplified circles representing this ideal, generally, they are very visible, such as Roxa's chin and above her forehead.

Through claws and teeth we give balance.

Pronunciation

roh-nahk

Assets

People: +/- 400 members
Specialized Dino: Allosaurus/Majungasaurus
Dinosaurs Kept

• Ceratosaurus
• Utahraptors
• Allosaurus
• Majungasaurus
• Tyrannosaurus
• Kentrosaurus

Agriculture & Industry

• Allosaurus is the main meat of industry for the Rownak, as their training is some of the best when it comes to hunting.

• Majungasaurus are their second largest deal in their industry of training beasts. One of the few trained Majungas that don't resort to cannibalism almost instantaneously.

Trade & Transport

• Most trades are generally tense situations. At times they have ended in bloodshed but most of the time trade end peacefully.

• Trades are never done on their land but borders are not off limits.

Type

Geopolitical, Nomadic tribe

Alternative Names

Cullers

Leader

Gervx*

Location

WildLands*

Neighboring Nations

• Am'Bou'Dou*
• Marked Ones*
• The Keepers*
• Wave 38*

Notable Members

• Jerlix*
• Roxa

Proverbs of the Rownak

We cannot be for the good of the one, we have to be good for the many.

Hunting is what makes us, either by rifle or by bow. Tracking, taking down, and carving up is every Rownak's birth rite.

Trusting those outside of our people is like trusting a wounded beast. You never know if they will be gentle and kind or bite the hand that seeks to help. Trust them no more than needed.

Territory

Campsites

Each site is not really a fully fleshed out camp, it is mostly just an area which is cleared and cleaned out to host the mobile camp of the Rownaks. Each site is labeled and if asked most Rownaks can tell you what site they were born at though it holds no real bearing on anything within the world of the Rownak.

Roads

They are not paved and are mostly kept clear from use, though some can grow over they are generally only kept to when moving the Rownak Main Camp. Hunting and scouting parties rarely use them to move about their territory.